Los Hombres de la Gabardina
Los Hombres de la Gabardina (The Men of the Trench Coat) was a Colombian drug trafficking group that operated primarily in Colombia but exported the majority of its goods to the United States in regions such as Miami and Los Angeles. History A Fragile Beginning In the 1970's and 1980's, as internal violence plagued Colombia, a higher order of wealthy aristocrats turned to join the chaos in order to avoid becoming victims. In 1970, Frederico Nuñez, one of these aristocrats known as El Caballero or "The Gentleman", started the group with Cormac Valdez as a mafioso-type gang but it degenerated into little more than a ruthless cartel quickly after, as street thugs and sicarios of wavering loyalty were pulled in to fill empty ranks. Originating in Barranquilla, they ran weak booze and cocaine-smuggling operations that only reached neighborhood and possible local business. Nuñez and his men were ignored by larger gangs like Los Santos and Los Animales. Los Hombres de la Gabardina only lived up to its name in the higher ranks and was nearly crumbled apart when a rival gang, Los Santos, pulled a vicious hit on December 28, 1975 in a day that was known as La Noche de la Lluvia Negra or "The Night of the Black Rain". Nuñez escaped the bloodbath by stealing a motorized scooter and speeding away into the blackness, but Valdez was slain. Rise to Prominence Nuñez was humiliated and vengeful, but his senior mafiosos had been slain and he was left with a few street punks who had survived only through cowardice. One senior member, Mauricio Orizaga, had survived La Noche de la Lluvio Negro and helped Nuñez instill a ferocious discipline. The two older men took each gang member one by one and brutalized him with a butter knife. With each attack the young men were filled with propaganda against other gang members and even law enforcement. By the time Nuñez and Orizaga had finished, they had an excellent group of second-tier officers ready to keep the grunts under control. Key members of Los Santos ''were pulled from their beds on December 28, 1976, one year after ''La Noche de la Lluvia Negra. They were brought to Nuñez himself, who took it personally to deal with the men who set his gang back a year. After a bare-knuckle beatdown, he sliced off the Santos men's thumbs and left them in a small warehouse, wrapped in towels. Rats were let into the room. It was sealed and it still today being guarded by grunts. It has never been opened since. The Late 70's Under a program devised by Nuñez to scoop street grunts up for the group, law enforcement officers were bribed to provide information on criminals being released from prison. Los Hombres would promplty pay these thugs a visit. Sometimes a new member would be added. Sometimes a thug was killed. Los Hombres were notorious for thumb-collecting (which would become their signautre method of torture). A man walking around without a thumb, or without both thumbs, were clearly men who had wronged Los Hombres and was fortunate enough to walk away. 1978 was the year that Los Hombres de la Gabardina rose to true prominence. After beginning a very successful cocaine-smuggling operation that was able to force its way into large urban American cities like Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California. This significantly increased income which in turn increased the quality of weapons and training available to Los Hombres. Light machine guns and technicals saw increased use. However, combat operations remained extremely limited in the United States. This was mainly to avoid an international profile with global law enforcement, but also to keep a friendly image with American mafiosos and gang lords. ''Los Hombres'' Today Los Hombres de la Gabardina are still a shadowy group today. Nuñez and Orizaga are still the two head leaders of the group but remain in Colombia, operating from behind a desk rather than exposing themselves out in public. Assassination attempts are more frequent than they appreciate. Still, Colombia has remained a firestorm of civil violence because of them. Los Santos ''were not destroyed in Nuñez's 1975 retaliation and are possibly ''Los Hombres de la Gabardina's most serious threat. However, it is not enough to shake the strong discipline and system of command that keeps Los Hombres one step above their competition. Recently their operations have expanded into Panama, and into Mexico with the permission of Damage Inc. in a shaky alliance. They also merged with Los Santos as their rivals became too poor to fund their own gang, inheriting 300 more grunts and enough territory to bring in 50 million dollars more per year. Damage Inc. was phased out as the group fell into a state of disrepair. Los Hombres found itself pressured by a growing anti-Cartel sentiment in Colombia, and the politicians began to resist cartel influence. As the paramilitary forces joined up with special forces teams from the United States to target organized crime in the region, Los Hombres fell dormant temporarily. A year passed, and the military tension eased, allowing Nuñez to re-start operations. Interested in expanding territorial influence as well as increasing military strength, a tentative deal was struck with the leaders of Los Sicarios to provide mutual trade and financial support. This alliance grew to encompass a mutual partnership with the Zolnerowich Bratva and Cicada in an effort to increase their influence in Miami. End of Los Hombres After several health complications, Nuñez passed away on March 29, 2014, of heart failure. With the loss of his leadership, Los Hombres disbanded peacefully with the help of a government-assisted ceasefire. System of Command Leaders: '''Frederico Nuñez, age 64 (died 29 March 2014); Mauricio Orizaga, age 63 - the men who control everything. Even if some people have certain jobs in the group, Nuñez and Orizaga have total say over everything. '''Lieutenants: Only 2 highly trusted grunts, one who is thumbless, have risen to the rank of lieutenant, who report directly to Orizaga or Nuñez personally. They are treated as high-value targets and could be possible candidates for assassination attempts. They control finances and weapons distribution as well as training and assets. Senior Officers: 10 grunts have become senior officers, who are lower in rank than Lieutenants and don't often interact with the leaders. These men often bridge the gap between high-up seniors and ground grunts. Veterans: These are the local leaders, spread across the Cartel's ring of operations, meant mostly to enforce the rules and keep the Cartel under control at the lower levels. There are over 100 of these local leaders and they rule with an iron fist. Grunts: The standard cartel member with no special privileges. They operate all of the Cartel's trafficking and racket operations under harsh disclipine of a strong command system with severe punishments. Weapons Melee Weapons Knuckle Duster Knife, Machete, Combat Knife, Lead Pipe, Brass Knuckles, Cane Knife Pistols Colt M1911A1, Makarov, Beretta M9 Submachine Guns Uzi, MP5 Rifles M1 Carbine Assault Rifles M16, AK-47, FAL, TAR-21 Sniper Rifles Dragunov SVD Light Machine Guns M60, RPK, PK Explosive Weapons C4, RPG-7, RGD-5 Grenades, TNT Vehicles M60 Technicals, Motorized Scooters, Shipping Trucks, Submarine, Armored Cars, Mesa Jeeps Current Activity Operations in Panama Drug Dealing Category:Criminal Organizations Category:Defunct Organizations